Sauron vs Sephiroth
by Mega Thor
Summary: The Dark Lord Sauron and the One Wing Angel Sephiroth have been revived by the shards of Soul Edge. Now they must battle each other and the warriors of the Soul Calibur realm to obtain the ultimate power. This story will change Catigories for a while So
1. Sauron's Prologue: The Shard in Mordor

The Shard in Mordor

Three weeks have past since Frodo Baggins tossed the ring of power in to the fires of Mount Doom. The power that sustained Dark Lord Sauron was destroyed in an instant. The earth swallowed all of Mordor dragging most of the orc army down with it. The hand full of orcs that survived were to be hunted down by the humans, elves, and dwarves that they once slaughtered so passionately. The future for the surviving orcs seems bleak and the end of the Time of the Orcs may come at any time. However, there has been a small, but evil presence lurking in the shadows of Mordor that will soon make itself known.

The legend began in what was once Mordor, but what is now a land of rocks and craters. The orc remnants number six thousand now, but that number is dwindling. In the deepest part of Mordor, Gorlan, the pink orc who lead the march on Gondor, finds himself reduced to scratching the living off rocks. Every now and then, he would look to the sky and count his remaining days. But today his hopes lifted as he saw a giant millipede retreat into the earth. He dove at it and threw away the rocks with his good hand hoping to get a grand meal. He finally got a hold of it and instantly pulled it out and devoured it. He tried to stand back up, but as he leaned on his hand, he felt a bizarre burn on the palm of his good hand. He curiously dug at the earth to see what it was. Finally, he dug up what appears to be an odd shard of metal with bolts of red energy darting out of it. Then all of a sudden, his mind is filled with the memories of his mission, the battle for middle earth, the orc army, the ring of power, and the Dark Lord Sauron himself. Gorlan screamed in fear and in pain until it stopped. Gorlan stood there in suspended time looking up at the sky. Then he turned his attention to the ruined Mount Doom. Then in a trance, he began to walk towards the dormant volcano. He marched up the side of the mountain with the strange shard in his hand as if he was following a ray of hope. He walked up the mountain for about twenty minutes before finally reaching a lava cavern leading to the Crack of Doom. Nothing but black harden lava remained. But Gorlan still walked in as if hypnotized. He walked in till he reached a pillar of cool lava with the abyss behind it. Gorlan reached out his hand that carried the bizarre shard. The metal instantly flew out and embedded itself in the pillar. Gorlan seemed to snap out of his trance and seemed surprised that he was in the Crack of Doom. When he realized were he was, he noticed the pillar in front of him was oozing molten lava and sparks. The whole pillar seemed to collapse to that single point. Gorlan watched until a flash of bright light caused him to shield his eyes. When his vision came back, the pillar was gone. Then, he saw it, the one ring to rule them all in its perfect splendor wrapped around the metal shard he found. Both the shard and the ring were flung into the dark abyss. Gorlan ran to the edge to see what just happened, but he saw nothing but a dark hole. Then, the ground began to shake. He looked down and noticed that the walls of the abyss were beginning to split and falling into the hole. Lava was flowing once again and the heat nearly scorched Gorlan. He leaped back to avoid the falling rocks and lava. When all the shaking finally subsided, Gorlan crept to the edge to look down. The lava was flowing as if it was before the ring fell in. But what caught his attention was a glowing object rising from the lava river. It was large, burning red of the heat, dripping of lava and charged with a bizarre energy. Groan tried to get a good look at it as it was rising to his level to see what power cold bring a volcano to life. When he finally realized what it was he was staring at, his cold heart skipped a beat. What he was looking at was the figure of his lost master, the Dark Lord Sauron. He finally spoke in shock " S...S...SAURON! DARK LORD SAURON!" Sauron finally reached face level with Gorlan who immediately crawled back with his head down in a bow of both fear and great respect. Sauron was placed on the floor in front of Gorlan. The metal body stood there for a few seconds, then it began to twitch and move. Then Sauron began to regain his vision. He looked at the walls around him, down at the crack of doom behind him, at Gorlan who could feel the eye of Sauron on him, and finally at his clenched fist with the one ring wrapped around his finger. He stared for a moment at his super charged ring, and then he tensed up a shot his arm up and gave a loud roar.

"AAAAAHHHHH! I LIVE AGAIN. I am stronger than ever! With the Ring of Power, once again in my possession, this world will soon taste my wrath again!"

All of Mount Doom seemed to roar with power. Sauron stood there in front of the lava pit, then all the tremors stopped. Sauron looked at the ring on his clenched fist, but then his attention was drawn away from the ring as he slowly opened his hand and revealed the metal shard in his hand. He was put in a trance as the shard implanted the history and secrets of the Soul Edge and Soul Caliber. Gorlan looked up to see the Dark Lord with the ring. Sauron then grasped his hand and looked at the orc.

"Gather whatever legions are left in Mordor. Tell them that their king is back and with a vengeance."

"My Lord?" Gorlan asked.

"I shall be back in ten sunrises. I want my army at full strength when I return."

"But Dark Lord, where are you going?"

"To get stronger and to obtain the ultimate power."

At that, Sauron turned around and held up the shard in his hand. Then all of a sudden, a dark energy bolted of the shard and consumed Sauron. At this time, several orcs came up to the cave to see what was the commotion. They caught s glimpse of the dark lord just before he vanished into time and space. A flash of bright light, and then Sauron, ring and all, was gone. Gorlan got up and looked around in disbelief as the other orcs came up behind him.

"Was that who I thought it was?" one said.

"Yeah! That was Sauron himself alright" said another.

"But how did he come back? And what was it that swallowed him?"

Gorlan finally remembered what sauron said to him and became the monster that terrorized Gondor long before. "Listen up, you maggots! Sauron is back and he's aiming to bring the world into darkness for good. Go down into Mordor and find as many orcs who are able to fight as you can. MOVE YOU MAGGOTS!" The orcs, with a surprised look still on their face, turned around and ran down the volcano to see who they can find. Gorlan turned and looked at the spot at were Sauron once stood. "And this time, the world of men will fall."


	2. Sephiroth's Prologue: The Angel's Resurr...

The Angel's Resurrection

He didn't know what hit him. The last thing Sephiroth remembers was Cloud Strife standing before him triumphantly, then his vision began to go blurry and red as blood from the gash on his head dripped into his eyes. Then Sephiroth felt his legs give in and he started to fall back. His life force oozed out his body from the fifteen wounds that Cloud gave him in the last attack. Energy continued to leave Sephiroth's body until his physical been was no more. Before he could reassemble his physical form, the Lifestream came and fused itself with the negative energy completely purifying it. Later, the Lifestream, together with the power of Holy, would save the planet from the Meteor that Sephiroth summoned. The planet would finally know peace after a long period of unrest.

However, peace was only made to be broken. In the months that followed, violent earthquakes would hit the Northern Crater; the spot were Sephiroth fell causing fragments of the surrounding rocks to fall into the Lifestream. One day, a strange earthquake would shake the crater, one that would almost feel alive. A powerful shock would cause the rock to separate from the wall revealing a metal shard that had an evil red aura emitting from it in the wall. After a very powerful shock, the shard finally broke free of the wall and tumbled toward the Lifestream below. When it finally made contact with the Lifestream, a vortex surrounded the shard and it created a wormhole that pulled the shard, as well as a large quantity of the Lifestream, through time and space.

In Northern Africa, in the medieval time, a flash of light would bring forth a large vortex of Lifestream. And in the center of the vortex, a figure with long white hair could be seen coming forth with a long sword in one hand, and a shard of Soul Edge in the other.


	3. The Dark Lord in Athens

**Author's Notes: **

**It's Mega Thor here. I hope you liked the prologues, but I think I should take the time to give out some notes and disclaimers before I get into trouble**

**  
Disclaimers:****  
Sephiroth, Cloud Strife, and the Lifestream are all trademarks of Squaresoft.**

**  
Sauron and his minions are all trademarks of the epic novels by J.R.R. Tolkien. (Gorlan is just an original name I made up, but the orc himself is still a trademark of Tolken). However, the upcoming Mordor siege ships are my idea.**

**All of the characters originally in the world of Soul Calibur are all trademarks of Namco.  
If you are only interested in the story of either Sauron or Sephiroth, then read every other chapter.  
**

**Now about updates, I'm still in school, take martial art classes, and hold a job so time on the computer is limited for me. On top of that, my computer currently has problems connecting to the Internet, but I do have connections. Expect updates every weekend.  
**

**Now, if any viewers see any spelling or grammar errors (angel vs. angle) or any thing questionable, notify me A.S.A.P.  
Now onto the fanfic!**

* * *

The Dark Lord in Athens

Athens, Turkey. Normally, this town is always preparing for war. Men and women alike would carry swords and wear armor everyday because of invaders attacking the city. However, on this day the residents get to relax and enjoy, for today is the World Festival. On this day, merchants from around the world to sell their goods in the city square causing a buzz that all of Athens can't help to get into. There is one stand from China that is that has some interest for a father, named Rothion, and his two children look on at the merchant's spectacular items.

"TA-DA!" shouts the Chinese merchant as he shows off a rubber ball to the spectators. "Pure Chinese rubber. I tell you kiddies that you will never find another toy this fun and unique." The children are thrilled at the unique toy while Rothion, just shakes his head.

"Daddy, can we play with the ball…PLEASE?" the little girl asks.

"Oh, Pyrrha, don't you already have enough toys at home?" asked Rothion in a persuasive manner.

"But Papa, the toys at home are not nearly as cool as a ball." quotes her younger brother.

"You too Patroklos?" Rothion finally sighed in defeat. "Well I guess I'm out voted. I'll buy one ball for the children." At that, Rothion gave the merchant some gold coins and the merchant gave the ball to Pyrrha who ran of with the ball, and Patroklos followed.

"Anything for you sir?" asked the merchant.

Rothion looked at his inventory and caught sight of a Chinese sword and shield. "I would like to buy that sword and shield." Rothion made his final trade and received his sword and shield.

After the trading, Rothion went to the courtyard and found a stone to sit on. He looked behind him to see his children playing in the square with their ball. Rothion then turned around and inspected his new foreign sword.

"_That's an interesting sword you got there._" A dark and ominous voice seemed to speak in Rothion's head. After a slight pause, he went about his ways. "_Now, it's rude to ignore someone who is speaking to you._"

Rothion stands up and looks around. "Who's there?"

"_Silence! I prefer it if you didn't draw attention. NOW SIT! All you have to do is think what you want to say in your mind, and I will hear it._"

Rothion had no choice but to obey this voice for now. So he sat down and collected himself. "_Like this?_" he thought.

"_Perfect. You catch on quick. Now, on to business._"

"_Wait! Before I help you, tell me where you are…for security reasons._"

"_Well, that's very demanding of you, but if you must know where I am, take a good look at that sword of yours._"

At that, Rothion looked at his sword. He saw nothing special at first, but he saw that the surface was highly reflective. He took a hard look at the reflection and what caught his eyes was what looked to be a big, black figure with a spiked crown sitting on a rock across the square behind him. "_If you also need my name, it's Sauron. Well, can we compromise now?_" the dark voice said.

Rothion cringed at his appearance, but then gave in. "_Fine. What is it that you want?_"

Rothion looked at the reflection and saw that he was raising his hand, which was holding something. He saw a dark energy jolting from the item and froze in horror because he knew what it was, a shard of Soul Edge. "_Well, judging by your reaction, you must know what this is. If you know what this is, then you must have more shards in your possession._" Rothion was silent. "_Now I want the rest. That means the shards you have will have to be mine as well. It will be beneficial to your life if you hand them over quietly_."

"_I don't have any shards of Soul Edge._" Sauron was silent, but Rothion knew he called his bluff. "_Besides, when the sword is complete, it will manipulate your mind and force you to do its darkest desires._"

"_You honestly think that my will can be controlled so easily?_"

"_You're a fool. And even if I had some shards in my possession, I would most certainly not give them to a freak like you. You may search the whole world if you like, but as long as I breathe, Soul Edge will never be revived. YOU HEAR ME, NEVER!_"

Just then, he heard the sound of a rubber ball bounce in he town square. He completely forgot that his children were still playing in the area. He looked at the reflection in the sword, and to his horror, he saw the white ball bouncing towards Sauron, and stopped at his feet. His heart raced, as he hoped none of his children would chase after it. But to his dismay, Pyrrha was running to retrieve the ball at Sauron's feet. He watched in shock as Sauron picked up the ball and Pyrrha just stood there. "_Well now! Who is this that you are so worried about? Could she be family?_"

"_NO!_" he thought trying to cover up his fear. "_I never saw her before in my life!_"

"_How many times are you going to lie to me…when I am inside your mind?_"

Rothion looked as Sauron handed Pyrrha her ball and then started to caress her head while Pyrrha gave him a comfortable smile. "_It would be wise to do as I say when I am in control. You shall obey me entirely and without hesitation. Or else…_" Then Rothion looked in the reflection in the sword and saw Sauron tightening the hand that was on Pyrrha head. Pyrrha head jolted back and it looked as thought it exploded in his hand. At that, Rothion jumped up and spun around in shock. However, after a slight pause, his daughter turned and ran in the other direction, perfectly fine and happy. Sauron then stood up and began walking towards Rothion. "_You shall meet back here at night fall when the streets are completely emptied. And when you come, you will have all of the Soul Edge shards in your possession ready to be handed to me. If you don't, then that little image I gave you will become a reality._"

Rothion was still too shocked to answer as Sauron walked towards him. He noticed Sauron was going to pass his left shoulder, but Rothion's eyes didn't follow. They bumped shoulders and Rothion felt a strong sense of malice emit off him that shook him even more. He turned his head around, but the giant monster completely disappeared from view. Rothion stood there trying to shake off that experience. After a long moment, he began to regain his senses and his calm. He took a breath, and was back to normal. He looked around the square and found his children still playing. He quickly ran to them.

"Pyrrha, what did I tell you about talking to strangers?" Rothion demanded.

"I didn't talk to him, but he did give me back my ball so I had to say thank you for being a polite man." Explained his daughter in a smart tone.

Rothion paused for a moment trying to see how Pyrrha would classify that monster as "polite," but he soon regained his calm again and forced a smile on his face. "Well I guess you got me there. Oh my! It's getting late. I bet you mother has a very special dinner planed for us." His two children cheered at the thought and ran for their home, leaving behind their father to worry about what he just got himself and his family into.


	4. The Labyrinth

The Labyrinth

_**(Sephiroth vs. Berserkers)**_

Northern Africa in a jungle filled with wild beasts and unseen dangers. The day is hot and everything is quiet. However, a figure moves through the forest with the speed that it's difficult for its shadow to catch up. It is none other that Sephiroth. Using his super human powers, he runs at top speed of 100 miles per hour without breaking a sweat. He continues to run through the jungle until all of a sudden, he comes to a screeching halt. When he fully stopped, he came face to face to what looked to be a cavern that opens into the ground. He stood and looked into the cave for a few seconds, and then he lifted out his shard of Soul Edge from a pocket under his cape. He held the shard close and closed his eyes to concentrate. After a brief meditation he opened his eyes and begun his advance into the cave.

As he got deeper, the cave got darker and it began to get hard to maneuver his Murasame. Further into the cave, the walls and floor started to even out, but it got too dark for even Sephiroth to see. So Sephiroth held out his open hand and focused his energy to his palm. A bright ball of Lifestream emitted from his hand and lit up everything around. It was now that Sephiroth saw that the wall and floor were perfectly crafted by human hands. Sephiroth wasn't there for the scenery, so he just continued down the narrow corridor. After a few hundred feet of walking, he finally came to a large circular chamber that branched out into seven different paths. Sephiroth stepped forward and looked at all of the paths. Seeing nothing out if the ordinary, he closed his eyes and focused his senses. In a few seconds, he came to, looked at one of the tunnels, and proceeded down it without hesitation. After a distance, he encountered the same obstacle, but he countered it the same way. He would run into quite a few more of these in the tunnel, but would over come all of them. However, after traveling for some time, a lone figure would step forward out of one of the tunnels he bypassed.

After the long maze, he would finally come to a large corridor that had a strange red light at the end. It was so bright that Sephiroth dismissed his glowing ball of lifestream. He looked around the tunnel and noticed hundreds of the giant suits of armor with giant axes lined up against the walls. He figured they were just for display and advanced towards the end of the tunnel. As he advanced one of the suits of armor's head slowly moved as if watching Sephiroth, for it was a living suit of armor called a Berserker. Sephiroth got an ill feeling and swung his head only to find the Berserker's head was in its original position. So he continued oblivious to the threat. As he is facing the other way, the same Berserker quietly steps off his post and stealthily advances toward the unknowing intruder with ax in hand. He closes in on Sephiroth, lifts his ax and prepares to deliver a single fatal strike. Sephiroth suddenly stopped and shook his head.

"You know, you can't really surprise someone from behind when you're in a loud piece of junk like that."

The Berserker gave a quick grunt in surprise, but then gave out a battle cry and slammed his ax on top of Sephiroth sending dust and debris in the air. At first it looked like a clean cut, but when all the dust settled, there was no sign of the white haired swordsman. He looked up to see that Sephiroth has jumped in the air and was doing acrobatics above him. As he descended Sephiroth quickly drew his Murasame and sliced at the Berserker's neck and landed a successful cut. Sephiroth landed on the floor gracefully with his Murasame held out, while the Berserker flails around with no head. Sephiroth decided to turn around to see his nemesis, but he caught a glimpse down his armor and was shocked to see that there was no body inside.

"What! A living piece of metal?"

The Berserker regained his balance and hunted down his head that was lying on the floor. He picked it up, brushed the dust off it, and placed it back on his neck. When his head was back on his shoulder, he turned towards Sephiroth, grasped his ax, and readied himself for another round. Sephiroth looked at him in agitation.

"So, I can't kill you the old fashion way can I? Well you should have stayed down and made me forget about you because even though you are nothing but metal, you are not enough to stop me."

At that, he heard a huge boom behind him. He turned around to see the other Berserkers in the hall had turned their head, got off their post, and held their axes ready for combat.

"Hmm. I knew that was too easy. Well at least I know something important is down here for me to go through this much trouble."

Before he could finish, the same Berserker thrust his ax at Sephiroth. However, he sensed it coming and dodged out of the way and retaliated by cutting off his ax-wielding arm. He then turned around to see the other Berserkers charging him. He quickly ducked, jumped, and dodged to avoid the flying axes, while slicing if arms, legs and heads trying to make them all stay down permanently. He knew that his weapon didn't stand a chance blocking a direct blow from one of the Berserkers giant axes, so the best he could do was dodge their strikes, and slash back at them. At one point, he leaped on top of on of the Berserkers head. The other Berserkers slashed at him only to dice up that Berserker. Sephiroth then appeared on the far wall and started to wall run to the exit of the tunnel. Axes sliced at him only to get stuck in the wall not even coming close to the quick Sephiroth. He would jump in the air, flip and spin over the Berserkers, and finally land on the other side of all of them. All of the Berserkers charged again, but Sephiroth clenched his free hand. Lifestream began to flow from his fist, and then he slammed all that energy into the ground with his hand emitting a strange spell wheel on the floor. At first nothing happened, but then the ground beneath the army of Berserkers began to shake. The Berserkers tried to stay up but eventually fell over. Then the floor under the Berserkers began to rise up. The floor rose up at great speed and slammed into the ceiling. Every single Berserker was crushed instantly. Only one of there heads rolled from the magic earth attack. After a slight pause, Sephiroth lowered the floor to its original spot showing all of the Berserkers crushed flat. Sephiroth stood victorious after his first fight in this new world. He turned around and continued down the hall, he passed the surviving helmet, which gave a slight twitch, but Sephiroth immediately sliced it in half, and continued his walk down the fiery tunnel to the next shard of Soul Edge.


	5. The Alexandra Sisters

**Thor's Notes: Whenever a chapter has a battle in it, the face off will be given at the start of a chapter. The main character will be listed as well as his opponents and the type of battle. When a main character faces off with more then one opponent in a chapter, the symbol (x) will indicate he will fight them at the same time. The symbol (--) will represent he will face the combatants one at a time. That should cover the fighting for now until later in the fic **

The Alexandra Sisters

_**(Sauron vs. Sophitia x Cassandra)**_

After the fair, Rothion took his kids back to his estate. Pyrrha and Patroklos ran inside anxious to show off their new toy, but Rothion couldn't shake off the horror he had to encounter at the fair. Pyrrha and Patroklos both ran in the house and started calling.  
"Mama Mama!" they ran in screaming. A woman came to greet them, but she wasn't their mother.  
"Well, welcome back. Sophitia, they're back." The woman who greeted them was Cassandra, sister of Sophitia and the aunt of the children.  
"Aunty Cassandra!" Pyrrha ran towards Cassandra Holding up her ball. "Look at what I got at the festival."  
"Wow! Now that's a nifty looking toy." Cassandra played to Pyrrha, but then her attention was drawn to Pyrrha's hand that had what appeared to be a brass ring on one of her fingers. "Hey Pyrrha, were did you get that ring?" 

"Oh, this ring?" Pyrrha answered. "I found it at the festival…on the ground. Does it make me look pretty?"

"It sure does." Then another woman entered the room.

"Welcome home" said the woman.

"Mommy!" shouted the kids as they ran to their mother. "Is dinner ready yet mama?"

"Not yet. It won't be for some time now." Sophitia answered.

"That means we have time to play." Said Patroklos as he ran to Cassandra. "Aunty Cassandra, come play with us." 

"Alright, but don't tire me out too much." Said Cassandra as Pyrrha and Patroklos dragged her outside.

Rothion and his wife were left alone. "I offered my sister a night here with us tonight. Will that be alright with you, dear?" Sophitia asked Rothion, but Rothion didn't answer for he was still concerned on how to handle his situation with Sauron. Sophitia started to get worried. "Rothion, is something wrong?"

"Who…oh! Yeah, that's fine with me. She is my sister-in-law, right?" Rothin answered trying to cover up his thought. "Well…I…I better go…see what our children are doing to Cassandra. By all means, they could lock her in the stocks again." He runs off putting on the fakest laugh. Sophitia wasn't fooled for a second. Her intuition told her that something was horribly wrong.

That night, Cassandra slept downstairs in the guest room, the children in the nursery, and Sophitia slept next to her husband in their room, but Rothion couldn't sleep that night. He had a job to do. He got out of bed, put on his night robe and went to the chest in the other side of the room. He got the key and opened the chest, inside was a few family air looms. He reached in and took out a sack. He opened it and placed in his hand 9 shards of Soul Edge.

"_What do I do? If I don't give Sauron the shards, my family is in danger, but if I do give them to him, the whole world is in peril. Why must it happen to me? …Wait, he knows I have shards of Soul Edge, but he doesn't know how many. That's it! I'll just give him four and keep the other five. He won't know."_

At that, he took out only four shards and put the rest back in the sack. He then pits the sack on the table and heads for the door. But before he could leave, he is surprised by a small figure and almost screamed aloud, but he sees it is just Pyrrha and stops himself.

"Pyrrha? What are you doing up this late?"

"I was just thirsty, so I went looking for water."

"What? Well, I'll give you a cup of water when I get back, but daddy must do something very important right now. I want you to crawl in bed and stay there. I'll be back soon."

"But Daddy…."

"No buts! Look, it is dangerous out tonight. So please go to bed and stay there." At that, he walks out leaving Pyrrha alone. Before long, Sophitia comes up behind her. She heard the whole thing and had already grabbed her sword, shield, and battle attire.

"Pyrrha, what did your father say to you?"

"Nothing! Just to go to bed."

"I see. Well it is best you do as he says. Don't get up until we come home." She leaves and once again, Pyrrha was left alone. When everyone was gone, she turned her attention to the sac with the shards of Soul Edge."

Rothion waits in the courtyard to hear from Sauron.

"_Alright, I got what you want. Now tell me where to go so I can give you the shards and you can stay out of my life."_

Sauron finally speaks. _"Patience, my friend. You'll get my location, but first, I want to see the friend you brought."_

"_What!" _Rothion is alerted by a sound behind him. As he looks, he sees his wife.

"Rothion, what are you doing out in the middle of the night? Why did you take the shards of Soul Edge?"

"_Who is this?"_

"_Nobody! Let me send her away." _To Sophitia. "Look, there is something I have to do to keep our family safe. Please go home and watch the kids."

"But…"

"_Now now, she is only worried about you, so why don't you bring her along. Go to the far side of your citadel. I expect you to bring your friend with you."_

"_WAIT…err" _"Fine, you may come along, but please let me handle stuff."

"O.k." Rothion goes to the citadel and Sophitia follows. They head to the back of the church as instructed. When they get there, they notice that one of the mosaics was reflecting the moon light onto the ground.

"Place them in the light." Sauron speaks aloud and Sophitia even hears him. Rothion does what he says and immediately places the four shards on the ground in the light and quickly backs away. At first all was still, but soon, the ground began to shake in rhythm under Sauron's footsteps. He comes close enough to the light that the two could see him completely. Even Sophitia cringed in fear when she saw him. He stared at them for a while, and then he looked down and saw the shards and picked them up.

Rothion step forward. "There, all the shards I have. You got what you want. Now leave me and my family and never come back!"

Sauron counts the shards in his hand, but then shakes his head. "Hmm, I thought we had an agreement."

"Huh?"

"You were supposed to bring me all the shards you have." He then held out his and. For a while, nothing happened, but then, the remaining five shards of soul edge seem to appear out of thin air and land in his hand.

"What the?" Sophitia asked. There was a slight pause, and then all of a sudden, Pyrrha appeared right next to Sauron. She is holding what appears to be a ring right off her finger. "Pyrrha!"

"No! Sauron, how could you kidnap my daughter like that?"

"I didn't kidnap her." Said Sauron. "She came out of her own free will. If you want her back, then take her."

"…O.k. Pyrrah, step away from the black knight and come back to daddy."

"Why!" asked Pyrrha.

"Pyrrha, listen to your dad!" Sophitia couldn't help but to cut in. "That man is dangerous. Some to us now!"

Pyrrha looks at them, then at Sauron. "But the knight is really nice to me."

"Pyrrha?" Sophitia had no idea what was with her daughter."

"It is useless. See that ring she is holding?" He points out the brass ring in her hand. "It is my personal property which is always connected to me. Any one who possesses it is under my influence. Normally, I would of perished the moment I was separated from it. But…" Holds up his shards of Soul Edge. "These shards seem to be able to sustain my life for a set period."

"You…you got what you want! Please give me my daughter back and leave. I swear, that is all of the shards we own." Rothion begged.

"Well, We agreed to you giving me all of the shards you had in exchange for your families safety, but since you dropped your end of the bargain, I don't know if I can keep up mine." Said Sauron.

"I had enough of your chit-chat!" Sauron turns around to see Cassandra with her shield and sword.

"Cassandra?" Said her sister surprised.

"Messing with Soul Edge is bad enough, but messing with my family my. Now I must beat you down." Cassandra said as she drew her sword.

Sophitia then gets up. "I'm afraid that with us two together, we are a formidable force. It is best you surrender now or we will be forced to take action."

"A fight between two women. Interesting, I wish to see what you can do." Sauron said as he grabbed his staff.

"That's it, you just sealed your fate." Cassandra charges Sauron.

"Wait! Cassandra!" Sophitia said, but then she charged Sauron as well.

Sauron was surrounded, but he was still relaxed. Just before they were in striking distance, he stomped the ground hard and caused them to lose balance, Sophitia was the first to regain and started slashing at Sauron, but he was able to deflect all of the blows with ease. She is knocked a way as Cassandra gets a few shots, but is unable to break his defense. As he fights Cassandra, Sophitia gets up and tries to catch him off guard. As they close in on him together, Sauron drops to one knee and hurls his staff across his body and lets go of it, but instead of going in one direction, it orbits his body at blinding speed. The sisters were forced to put up their shields to block the quick attack. After being pushed back, Cassandra finally ducked under the orbiting staff and charged Sauron. Sauron turns his attention, but Sophitia then jumps over the attack and aimed to attack him from above. Sauron recalled his staff and braced for the double attack. The sisters pounced, but they were both stopped as Sauron used the staff to block Cassandra's sword, and used his hand to catch Sophitia's. The three stood there in a deadlock for a few seconds, then Sauron throws them aside like they were nothing. Cassandra was the first one back up and started an offensive on Sauron. Sophitia soon got up and was about to strike Sauron, but Sauron parried Cassandra away and raises his staff at Sophitia. Sauron goes in the offensive for the first time and with great force. Sophitia blocks the first strike, but the force nearly broke her arm. She ducks the second one, she tried to parry the third one with her sword, but her sword completely shatters. Then Sauron put all his might into the next attack and hit Sophitias shield and caused it to break into peaces and breaks her arm. Sophitia drops to the ground and holds her damaged arm.

Cassandra watches her sister get mangled. "Sophitia? No!" Cassandra charges Sauron in a fit of rage. But Sauron quickly turns around and blocks the attack and knocks the sword out of her hand. Then Sauron hold out an empty palm at Cassandra. Nothing happened at first, but then Sauron fires a sonic boom at Cassandra and sends her flying into a wall behind her. She stumbles to her knees and passes out from the blow.

"YOU MONSTER!" Sophitia gets up quickly and kicks Sauron in the head, but since his body is made of metallic, she ends up just breaking her leg. Sauron was unphaised, but there was something about the kick that caught his attention. Sophitia could barely stand now. "Don't underestimate our resolve!" She yelled with all her might, but then Sauron Began laughing.

"Ha ha ha! Now that was clever. I didn't even sense them there. That is a good idea hiding them there."

"What are you talking about?"

"Don't you know? Let me show you." At that he raises his arm, and Sophitia seems to rise with it. Soon, one arm, both legs and a shoulder seemed to be stuck in place.

"What the?" Rothion said as his wife dangled in the air trying to get free. He would attack, but he knew he wouldn't stand a chance against him.

"Hiding shards of Soul Edge in your body. Pure genius." Sauron continued to hold up Sophitia, but with a motion of Sauron's hand, her body jerked and out flew four pieces of Soul Edge from her limbs in a splash of blood. The shards flew into Sauron's hand while Sophitia was dropped to the ground bleeding badly. She passes out.

"Sophitia?" Rothion was in disbelief. He quickly runs to Sophitia and holds her in his arms. "Sophitia. Wake up."

Sauron holds all the shards in his hand, then he places them all in his arm and they stick like magnets. He looks around. "Well, I think that was the last of the Soul Edge shard in this area. Since you entertained me for the time I was here, I shall leave you to die the way you see best." He looks to Pyrrha. "I shall be needing my ring back." The ring disappeared from Pyrrha, and magically appeared on Sauron's finger. Pyrrha then seems to snap out of a trance, took one look at Sauron, and runs to her daddy screaming. "I shall take my leave now." He then walks out of the ally. Cassandra finally comes to, and sees Sauron just before he disappears into the night. Cassandra, struggles to her feet, then sees Rothion and Pyrrha struggling to revive Sophitia. She limps over to join them, just as imperial guards came to see what was happening.


	6. Chamber of Fire

The Chamber of Fire

(**_Sephiroth vs. Voldo-Ivy.)_**

Sephiroth didn't break a sweat while fighting the mindless Berserkers. He headed down the final hallway. As he did, he felt the room temperature rise as if he was walking in a volcano. He soon finds himself coming to the end of the hallway and out into another room. The room was a giant cavern the size of a meadow. He looked around at his surroundings. Not to far in front of him was a drop off. He looks over it and right below was a pit of lava. It extended from one side of the cavern, to the other. He looks across the pit to see the other side. It looked like a building that has been torn away and nothing but the other side of the wall remained. In the wall seemed to be a small safe. He sensed the power of shards coming from inside the vault, and thus he found his target.

He looked around and saw two spikes coming out of the ground with rope wrapped around it. It was apparent a bridge was here, but it was gone now. Sephiroth let out a sigh, but put a grin on his face. He walked up to the edge of the pit. Then he lifts up his hand as if trying to lift something. As he was doing this, a blob of molten lava rose out of the pit. As it came up, it cooled and became solid rock. It stopped when it was at feet level to Sephiroth. Sephiroth casually stepped on the floating rock, and it supported his weight. He stood on the rock and it began to carry him over to the other side of the pit. About halfway across, some small rocks fell right next to his face. He immediately sopped and looked up. He saw nothing, but let out a grin and continued.

Finally, he reached the other side and stepped onto the ledge. Right before him was the vault. He quickly moved up to it to inspect it. He felt a strange energy from within. There was no question about it. Shards of Soul Edge are inside. He looked at the vault and saw the knob used to open it. He reached for it, but as he did, a figure of a man hanging upside down crept towards him. Sephiroth just smirked, and then he just spun around while slashing his sword in a way it would cut a normal man in half, but some how, this man bend his body in a very bizarre way and the blade missed him. He hopped back and landed in an awkward stance. Sephiroth noticed he had claws and bandages covering his face. He gave out a vicious hiss.

"What the hell is this? Is this some kind of joke? Fine, whatever." Sephitroth slashed at him again, but Voldo managed to dodge it again in the same manner. Then he landed in his backward bridge stance. Sephiroth saw this as an easy chance to get him, but Voldo crawled at him with his blades. Sephiroth saw it coming at the last second, and dodged it by inches. Voldo went passed him and shifted his momentum and curled into a ball and rolled at him. Voldo tackled him in the chest and flew passed him. Sephiroth was dazed and lost track of him. He finally looked down and found Voldo slithering around his feet, but Sephiroth was quick enough to jump before he was hit with his claws. He landed a good distance from Voldo and laid down his sword.

"I had enough of this little circus. Time to end this." Sephiroth said as he raised his and a white mist was emitted. Voldo then jumped in the air and dove at him. Before Voldo was in range, Sephiroth slammed his fist into him and a white cloud surrounded them both. When the mist cleared, Sephiroth was standing while Voldo fell in a block of ice with his head sticking out. Voldo screams at the top of his lungs. Sephiroth looks at the vault and cuts the door off. Gold and jewels purred to his feet, as well as 10 shards of Soul Edge. He picked them up and headed for the exit while Voldo was still screaming.

Sephiroth got across the lava pit and ended up on the other side. He was about to exit the chamber, but a figure came out of the hall before him. It was a woman with white hair in a tight, revealing outfit. It was Ivy who has been following Sephiroth.

"Hello big boy." She said in a very seductive voice. "I see you have a whole lot of shards for Soul Edge. My how strong you are." Sephiroth looks down and starts scratching the ground. "If you give me the shards of Soul Edge, I'll do you a very special favor."

"Sorry," Sephiroth responded. "But if I wanted to waste my time looking at dirt, I would of just looked beneath my feet. Now move!"

"What? Why…how dare you insult a beauty like me! Now," she takes out a short sword. "I shall take it by force, and leave you dead."

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. No offence, but I seen noses longer than that knife. I invite you to try to cut me."

"Fine!" She charges and slashes. Sephiroth casually steps back and out of range. He ended out of reach, but he saw a cut on his shoulder.

"What? How did that happen?" He saw a grin grow across Ivy's face. "Humph! Try that again." He readies Masamune. Ivy slashes again and he jumps back. He felt a cut on his face, and then slashed his sword around. When he held his sword in place, a chain with blades was wrapped around his sword. "I see, quite the clever weapon."

"Ah ha ha ha! There are none who can defeat my Ivy Blade. You should have accepted my offer when you had the chance. Now I will kill you and take your shards of Soul Edge."

"Humph, whatever." He then wrapped more of Ivy Blade around Masamune causing Ivy to be drawn closer and closer. Before she was in striking range, Ivy Sword broke into dozens of small individual blades. They flew in and surrounded Sephiroth. "Very well." He dashed out of the center of the blades and began to run alone the wall as the blades pursued. He would deflect the blades with his sword. At one point, he was pushed in to a corner, but with one spin of Masamune, he repelled every single blade. He began to run from the blades again and at one point, flew over Ivy's head. He landed as Ivy returned all of Ivy Blade to the handle.

"Ha! This is almost to easy, now to end this game." Boasted Ivy.

"I couldn't agree more." A sinister grin grew on Sephiroth's face. Ivy was puzzled, but she felt the ground under her shift. She soon realized too late that Sephiroth cut the ground around her away while evading the blades. The ground slid away and began to fall to the lava pit alone with Ivy on it. Sephiroth watch as she disappeared over the edge. He paused for a moment, then proceeded to the cliff and looked down to find Ivy clinging to the rock just feet above the molten lava.

"Why you…" Bickered Ivy as she holds on for dear life. "Just wait till I get up there. I'll make you pay!" Sephiroth stared at her, then turned his back and walked out of the chamber. "Wha…Hey! Get back here you coward. How dare you leave without finishing a battle? YOU DAMN COWARD." She kept on screaming, but Sephiroth was too far into the labyrinth to hear her.

A few hours after the battle, Sephiroth emerged outside from the labyrinth. He held his shard and focused. He then opened his eyes and looked to the east. Without hesitation, he began the sprint to his next objective.


	7. Clash of the Giants

**Thor's Notes: According to Lord of the Ring Tactics, Sauron's weapon's name is Morning star, and Gorlan's real Name is Gothmog.**

Clash of the Giants

(Sauron vs. Necrid x Rock)

It has been several long days since Dark Lord Sauron obtained the shards of Soul Edge from Athens. He traveled many slow miles east by foot. Eventually, he will wonder into Italy while following the vibes of Soul Edge shards. He would continue walking until he suddenly stops. The shards on his arm started to pulse with energy. Sauron looked around, and then a wind from the north blew in.

"Hmm, blood. The air reeks of it. A battle of great bloodshed is taking place." His shards emit more energy. "I see. So the reward is something of high value to me." Sauron starts to head north in the direction of the smell of battle. The sent will lead him to climb a hill. He finally reaches the top of the hill and looked down into a valley. He saw an intense battle taking place between thousands of warriors. One side composed of barbarians from the mountain woodland. The others are Roman warriors dressed in extravagant armor. He starts to survey the battle and sees a group of warriors clustered around what appears to be a green monster with spikes and a glowing chest. "Hmm..." Sauron kept his eye on him as the battle raged on.

"Hurry up" Shouted Deseous, the giant general of the Roman army. "Stop the barbarians, slay Necrid and bring me his shards." On his command, hundreds of troops tried to swarm Necrid, but they were all cut down by his weapon.

"Ahh, he's a monster!" cried one soldier. The army began to back away.

"Grrr useless peons." Deseous cringed in frustration, and then he took a sac of gold out of his pocket and threw it behind him. It landed at the feet of a giant man with a helmet of a lion with horns and a spike mace. "Rock, you see this? This is only a fraction of what I will pay you if you take out Necrid and save my army."

Rock looked at him with a disgusted face. "Humph pay me with all the gold you want. It is of little value to me. You know what it is I desire." He points to one of Deseous' pocket. "That is the reward I want."

"Grr." Deseous lets out a sigh. "Fine, destroy Necrid and save my men, and the shards of Soul Edge shall be yours."

Rock picked up his mace. "When I get back, I shall expect to be paid in full." He charges to battle.

Deseous looked at his crew of archers. "When Rock gets back, I want you to kill him, and take the shards he took from Necrid."

The battle raged on. Necrid killed thousands of Roman soldiers and bandits alike without showing the least bit of fatigue. All of a sudden, a wave of battle cries could be heard coming down the hill from the east. Roman reinforcement has arrived to join the battle.

Deseous let out a sigh of relief. "Ahh, reinforcements. We shall now wipe out all who oppose me." The wave of Roman warriors were about to tackle the Bandit forces. However, before they could engage the enemy, a giant figure dropped in front of them and the shock sent a couple of them flying back. It was Sauron who step forth to oppose them. "Huh? Who the hell is that?" Sauron just stood there in front of hundreds of Romans, and then the ring of power began to give energy to Morning Star as well as the shards of Soul Edge on his body. As his weapon pulsed with energy, he began to raise it as if to strike. Then in one motion, he swung his mace and unleashed a massive wave of burning energy into the crowd of soldiers. Many disintegrated instantly; others were injured to the point of being unable to fight. Those few who managed to come out unharmed, fled for there life.

Rock stood there in aw. "What on earth? He's not human, just pure evil."

"Oh my," Deseous responded. "The power of Soul Edge use to take out an entire army. Impossible!"

Both the barbarians and Romans froze in place. Necrid was dazed for a few seconds, and then he saw the shards of Soul Edge. He gave a challenging gesture and roar. Sauron turned his attention back to him, and began to walk towards him.

The barbarian chief turned his attention to Sauron. "Hmm, that man has both a powerful weapon and shards of Soul Edge. HA! Hack him to pieces and bring them both to me!"

At his command, a dozen bandits charged him with a confident battle cry, but Sauron let out a powerful roar and blew them all back. Sauron just kept walking and both bandit and soldier moved out of his path. The crowd would divide and soon the path would connect Sauron and Necrid. Necrid slammed the ground, jumped around swung his arms in the air, but Sauron still maintained his steady pace. Necrid then jumped in high in the air and began to descend over top of Sauron throwing his fist at him Sauron put only his hand out to block, but a stream of energy came from Necrid's hand and it struck Sauron. Sauron backed away and felt a sharp pain in his arm and shoulder.

"Hmm, I never felt pain like that before. I must keep my guard up." Sauron raised Morning Star in a defensive stance and gave his weapon a Soul Charge. Necrid, in a ballistic manor, charged Sauron with all his might and put Sauron on the defensive. Necrid just threw strike after strike to try to get through Sauron's defense. His weapon would change from an Ax, to a whip, from two short swords, to one big sword.

Rock tried to hurry to the battle. "I must stop that thing from getting anymore shards."

The battle between Sauron and Necrid intensified as weapon clashed with weapon. Energy from both combatants was flying from them and on to the bystanders. The battle seemed endless until Necrid summoned a bolt of energy from under Sauron's feet. Sauron was able to dodge the blast, but Necrid intercepted him and with all of his strength, toss the Dark Lord away. The force was so great; Morning Star fell out of Sauron's hand. Sauron tumbled helplessly for a few feet and came to a dead halt with his face in the ground. Necrid seemed victorious and began to walk over to Sauron's body, but in that moment, Rock jumped out of the crowd and challenged Necrid.

"Stop you monster! His Shards are mine!" Rock swung his club and knocked Necrid of balance and charged Sauron. "Die evil beast." Rock moved to crush his head with his mace, but at the last second, Sauron regained consciousness and rolled out the way. He then grabbed Rock's own weapon and they began to struggle for it. They were well matched until Sauron placed one hand on Rock fore head. The contact of Sauron nearly burned the fleshy right off Rock's skull. Rock broke free, but was writhing in pain and holding his head. When Rock was dispatched, he arose with Rocks mace ready for Necrid's next attack. They looked at each other knowing that this would be the final blow of the battle. Necrid charged Sauron with the energy in hand. He slashed, but Sauron caught it with Rocks mace. While this happened, he used his free hand to recalled Morning Star to his hand and stabbed Necrid in his chest, causing his energy container to crack. When Necrid jolted back, Sauron assulted him with Morning Star and the mace. In the end, Rocks club shattered, as well as the power box on Necrids' chest. Life energy left Necrid's body and 5 Shards of Soul Edge, flew out of his body. Sauron lifted his hand and caught the shards. Necrid lay dead, and Rock lifts his head to see Sauron. "He's. Stronger...an even...Soul...Edge." He then drops unconscious

Deseous watched in fear. "Impossible. He defeated both Necrid and Rock?" He watched as Sauron turned his attention to him. "Oh no! Men, rip him apart!" All the Roman soldiers charged Sauron, but with slight swings of Morning Star, wave after wave were tossed and destroyed. Deseous was ready to run for his life, but after his first and only step, Sauron tapped into his mind and he started to flail around as Sauron approached. When Deseous was freed, it was too late. He now stood face to face with the Dark Lord. He lifted his open hands. "Wait Wait, there is no need for the strongest and richest warriors in the land to be enemies. There is no reason to fight. If you serve me, I will pay you more gold than any..." At that Sauron grabbed Deseous by the neck and lifted him of his feet. "Wait...STOP!" He tried to beg with what little breath he could muster.

"Serve a coward like you? You goblin fodder!" The heat of his hand intensifies. "You are not even worthy of serving me." His hand ignites into flame and starts to burn the flesh of Deseous' neck. "Become a useless waste of space...in the underworld." Fire completely consumed Deseous from the neck up. His body gave a couple of twitches, and then came to a dead still. Sauron dismissed the flame, and all that was left was his charred skull. Afterwards, Sauron helped himself to one of his pockets and pulled out three shards of Soul Edge. He drops the body and the skull shatters to dust. For a moment, Sauron looks at the 7 new shards in his hand. The two armies watch, and then go into a panic. Afterwards, he turns his attention east and continues to follow the scent of more shards.


	8. Setting Sail

Setting Sail.

(Sephiroth vs. Assassins.)

After finding the shards of Soul Edge in the labyrinth, Spirit started to travel north through a desert region in pursuit of other shards. He moves at a fast pace which no other being on earth could match. It would be hundreds of miles of non-stop running, but then Sephiroth would see a town appear over the horizon. Sephiroth would also catch the scent of salt water in the air. Apparently, it was a sea port. Sephiroth quickly slowed down to a calm natural walk, and casually walked into the port. The streets were filled with merchants, thieves, and shoppers. Sephiroth walked the streets trying to keep a low profile, but his long white hair, peculiar clothing, and Masamune, he turned quite a few heads. He wandered the city for a while until he heard someone shouting in the distance.

"Final boarding call for voyage to India! Final boarding call for voyage from Egypt to Italy." A large ship was ready to set sail from the port to land in Europe. Sephiroth studied the scene for a few seconds noticing nothing out of the ordinary. Then, he looked over at the landing leading onto the ship and saw a group of a few dozen men and with masks, hoods, and face scarves. All carrying light swords. He saw the group was huddled around one person. He looked of high class with short yellow hair and a rapier blade in the left hand. He was holding the hand of a little red head girl with pony tails. When Sephiroth saw him, he instantly felt his power. He looked over him and noticed a sac tied to his sash that gave off some evil energy. Sephiroth knew what it held. He watched for a few seconds, and then the man was approached by a sailor.

"Master Raphael, we are ready to set sail." Raphael gave a nod, then he and the sailors got on the ship. Sephiroth looked at the ship. Dozens were getting on, but they had to go through security and they had to buy a ticket. Paying his way in wouldn't be a problem, but he had to hide Masamune for now. He noticed some crates that were being loaded onto the ship and put in cargo. He casually walked over and started to look for a box to hide Masamune. He tried a long box, but it didn't fit. He tried another box, but his sword didn't fit that one either. So Sephiroth continued to search for a crate big enough in frustration.

"Hurry up! Pay up, and get on board!" The captain shouted while trying to hurry everyone on board. All the passengers threw what ever gold they had to get on the ship. Some had enough and got on; some didn't and got tossed aside. In the confusion, Sephiroth extended his hand and dropped a bag full of rubies, emeralds and diamonds he took from the labyrinth. The captain and the guards all fell silent in awe, but Sephiroth let out a sigh.

"Not enough? Very well." Sephiroth dropped even more gold and jewels before him and the captain almost falls over.

"Welcome aboard! Please make yourself at home on my boat." Sephiroth casually made his way onto the ship and disappeared into the crowd. "We are ready for lunch. Set Sail!" On his command, the sailors pulled anchor, released the sails, and untied all the ropes. The ship instantly caught wind and started disappearing over the horizon, but no one knew that that would be the ship's last voyage.

It's been two days since the ship left the port. The sky was clear and the air was cool. Every passenger came out of their quarters and got outside on deck. Many merchants tried to sell their goods, bandits and thieves tried to do parlor tricks for some extra cash, and their was not a single women that didn't have at least five men trying to hit on her. In the mist of everything, Raphael, followed by Amy and his group of hired assassins, came up from below deck and made his way across the deck. Everyone got out of his way and, fell silent as they passed. They made their way up to the captain quarters. When they entered the room and shut the door behind them, everyone else on the deck went about their ways. However, Sephiroth watched them enter the captain quarters from the other side of the deck. He analyzed the situation for a few seconds, and then he slowly made his way to the cargo bay. Making sure he wasn't seen, he went below deck to the hull. When he got there, he found the guard tied up and trying to climb the stairs inch by inch like a worm, but ignored him and stepped around him. He finally got to the cargo bay, and heard voices.

"Hurry! Find the gold and any other valuables we can carry." It seemed some bandits decided to make their move. Sephiroth decided to get out of sight.

"Wow! I can retire early and buy me a mansion." Another bandit said.

"Hey, I found all the weapons." Said a bandit who was going through all the crates to find weapons. There were a total of five bandits plundering the cargo bay.

"Ale, where's the ale? Where is the pirate's holy water?" Sephiroth turned to find that a bandit heading his way and started to clench his fist.

The four other men searched the other end of the cargo bay when one came to a very long crate and opened it to find Masamune. "What the…?" He said as he tried to lift the sword, but lacked the skill to use it. "This thing sucks, but I bet I could sell it for a bundle."

"Meh, I have seen bigger." Boasted a bandit as he watched his comrade tried to wield the sword. They all laugh for a moment, but then they stopped when they saw the bandit who was after the Ale stumble to them as if drunk. "Well look who found the mother load. Hey drunken face, did you save any for us?" The man stumbled around while bent over. He made eye contact with them and struggled to stand up right. When he did, the other bandits faces went to jolly, to absolute horror as they saw a gapping hole in his torso that went all the way through his body. His face was lit with pain and fear, and then he dropped to the floor dead. They just looked at the body in shock.

"LOOK OUT!" A bandit yelled as he saw Sephiroth charge the men. They all pull out their daggers. "Come on!" He yelled as he trusted at Sephiroth, but his knife was deflected one way and Sephiroth grabbed and twisted his head the other way snapping his neck. Another bandit tried to slash him, but Sephiroth grabbed his neck and used thunder, instantly stopping his heart. One more bandit tried his luck, but Sephiroth used ice on and complete froze him. He walk passed the body and back fist it causing it to shatter into hundreds of pieces. The bandit holding Masamune fell over in fear as Sephiroth walked up to him. He let out a scream just as Sephiroths hand was reaching for him.

Meanwhile, in the conference quarters, Raphael was having a meeting with his men. "That's the plan. We shall venture to Athens, I heard of a family owning some shards. Retrieve them all, and you shall be rewarded. I don't care what tactics you use, just get me those shards understand?" The assassins nodded their heads. There was a slight knock at the door. An assassin got up and opened the door, and in crawled the cargo guard who was still tied up.

"Help, some men are looting in the Cargo bay!" He said on the floor. Just as he did, there was a scream of a woman from outside. All of the assassins got up and ran out the door to see the commotion. They formed along the rail and looked down in the floor to see everybody focusing their attention to the rear hatch which had one of the bandits standing out side with a sword in his hand. Raphael came out last and saw the bandit holding the sword. However, he saw that the sword wasn't in his hand, but the sword was coming through his chest. That was when he saw over the shoulder of the bandit the face of Sephiroth. They both made eye contact, and both of them felt the shards they held and the fighting spirit each other had. Then all of a sudden, Sephiroth rip the sword out of the bandit's chest. He writhes' in pain for a few seconds, then falls dead from the loss of blood. At first, all were silent and still, but all at once, everyone aboard scrambled for their live. Some found life boats to ride out in. Some just dove over the side and swam away. In a matter of seconds, Raphael, Sephiroth, Amy, and the band of assassins were all that was left on the ship. The assassins were ready to draw their swords, but Raphael just let out a maniacal laugh.

"Muah ha ha ha! How foolish of you to anger me, but luckily for you, and the shards of Soul Edge in your possession, you won't be a complete waste of my time." His red poisoned eyes grew wide with rage. "Now, let's celebrate your demise." He raised his hand and snapped his fingers. Then an assassin jumped over the rail and landed on the deck. He charged Sephiroth, but Sephiroth made a knife hand and stuck it in the assailant's chest and crushed his heart. After he tossed his first victum aside, he saw four assassins ready to slash him. However, Sephiroth drew his sword and slashed all four of them in half with one slash. "Humph, you fail to impress me." Raphael continued to taunt as two more assassins advanced to Sephiroth, but Sephiroth snapped his finger and the two assassins were surrounded by a cloud of smoke. When the smog settled, it appeared that all that was left of them was their clothes, but there was some movement in them and soon, out jumped a frog from the clothing. Sephiroth stood before Raphael once again. "O.K. Turning them into frogs was something new." The rest of the assassins were about to advance, but Raphael stopped them. "Hold it! I shall deal with this loathsome creature myself." The assassins put away their swords and Raphael heads down the stairs to meet his foe. "What is your name, worthy adversary?"

"……Sephiroth."

"Now there's an odd name, from what land are you from?" Sephiroth didn't answer. "Doesn't matter, why do you want Soul Edge?"

"So I can kill the bastards that halted my life and create the ultimate utopia for me and my mother."

"Interesting. It appears that you and I are a lot alike. I shall fight you as my strongest rival instead of a peon." Raphael draws his Rapier in his left hand. "En-guard you loathsome creature." Raphael said as Sephiroth readied himself for the fight.


	9. The Dark Lord and the Hell Spawn

Disclaimer: Spawn and Clown belong to Todd Mcflaren.

"The Dark Lord and the Hell Spawn"

(Sauron vs. Spawn-Clown.)

"Charge him! Kill him! Overwhelm him with superior numbers!" A general of a Persian army orders his men to attack Sauron all at once. Sauron was already surrounded before the fight started, but when the fight did start, the Persians found out a little too late that numbers didn't matter when going up against the Dark Lord. Only a few soldiers got the courage to charge Sauron, but all of them were cut down in an instant. The tussle went on for a few minutes with Sauron showing no sign of fatigue. The men started to lose their nerves and slowly backed away. However, Sauron's body started to glow read with heat. Then all that heat was unleashed in a massive explosion of energy that disintegrated the Persian army and all around. All was quiet and still as Sauron has turned the battlefield into nothing but ash. Sauron took some time to cool his body down.

Sauron got back to his normal state and was ready to continue, but then he sensed shards of Soul Edge close by. He tried to pin point the location, but he felt its aura all around him. Sauron got an eerie feeling that he was being watched; that an evil force that couldn't be human was hunting him. He tried to find it but the power was too great for his Eye. It got to the point that he almost got lost on the barren battlefield. Although confused, he never lost his composer. Then from out of the smoke, he heard a high crackly laugh. He turned in the direction it was coming from, and from the dust cloud appeared to be a short fat man with white nasty hair, red eyes, and blue face paint dressed in a tattered trench coat, torn jeans, and pointy shoes.

"He he hehe! Oh this is all just tasty." The little man chuckled. Sauron just watched as he walked around. "I mean, just look at how easily you disintegrated all these men." He then picks up a hand full of ash. "Nothing like the feel of cremated bodies, nor the taste." He eats all the ash in his hand and licks his fingers.

"Who…What are you, a dwarf or something?" Sauron finally questioned.

"NO you metallic son of a…"

"A hobbit? You look like a really corrupt hobbit I once knew of, but he was scrawny compared to you."

"Humph! Isn't it obvious? I'm a clown, a happy clown."

"A clown?"

"A Clown, a jester." Begins to juggle rocks and dance around. "Some one who makes men, women, and children laugh?" There's an awkward pause, then clown pulls out an ice cream cone and starts eating. "No? Doesn't matter, buddy, cause all I got is a slight deal for you."

"…I'm listening"

"Simple when you eventually bite the dust, sooner or later, you might be going to hell for some of the crap you did up here."

"…crap?"

"Anyway, baby, when you do die, I will tell my boss the favor you did for me, and your trip to hell will be that of royalty."

"…"

"All you have to do is give me all the Shards of Soul Edge and I'll be sure to…"

"No deal."

"What?"

"How about you give me all the shards in you possession instead?"

"How dare you…I try to be nice and give you luxury, and this is how you repay me?"

"SILENCE!" Sauron waves his hand at Clown and sends him flying back with his dark powers. Clown rolled back a few feet and ended up on his back. He tried to get up, but Sauron appeared next to him, press Morning Star on Clowns throat and pinned him.

"You…cheap…Bastard."

"Call me whatever made up name you want, but the fact is your negotiation was doomed from the start. First, the shards are mine to keep, and second, I wouldn't need your end of the bargain for I don't think someone has the ability to kill me now."

"Perhaps I can fix that for you." A low voice came from behind Sauron. He turned to look and before him stood a tall man in a tight black and white outfit and a red cloak. He had a full mask which revealed his piercing green eyes. When Sauron saw him, he instantly knew that he was the source of the evil presence in the air and the holder of several shards of Soul Edge. "The less you fear death, the younger you die. It's a pity your over confidence shall lead to your shameful death." Sauron turned his attention to the evil being that stood before him and released Clown.

"Uh-oh!" Clown taunted with an evil grin on his face. "I tried to be nice, now Spawn, my client shall rip you to pieces." Clown lets out a sinister chuckle.

The Dark Lord and the Hell Spawn circled each other. Their evil energy clashed in mid air and the whole area felt heavy with the weight of the energy radiating off the evil fighters. "What are you suppose to be anyway?" Sauron asked. "I sense the presence of a human in you."

"From what I can tell you, I am called a Hell Spawn?" Spawn answered. "I was human once, and then I was screwed over by someone who I trusted as a brother. I was sent back by the lord of Hell. I would see my wife and become an officer in Hell's army. I saw my wife, married to my best friend and with a daughter I could never give her."

Sauron just gave a blank stare. "……you're weak?"

"HUH!" Spawn face showed the rage he was feeling.

"Ouch!" Said Clown watching the whole thing. Even he was shocked by the comment. "That comment will leave a mark in the morning.

Sauron continued. "The world of men is full of the weakness that holds them back. Hundreds of women they could have, yet they only subjugate themselves to one woman. They put all of their motives into that one woman. And unknowingly, she becomes his weakness. Thus, you can never beat me now."

Spawn clenched his fist to hold his anger. "YOU...son…of a…" Before he could finish, Spawn seemed to explode with evil energy; more than Sauron ever expected. Sauron braced himself, but he was caught off guard as chains flew out of Spawn's cape and started wrapping around Saurons body. Spawns anger and intensity grew as the chains swallowed Sauron completely, while Clown watch in excitement from the side line.

"YES! That's it, baby! Kill him! Rip him apart! MAKE HIM SUFFER!" Clown began to dance around in joy as Sauron disappeared into the chain, but soon Spawn reacted like he was in pain. The chains wrapped around Sauron were shaking loose and then shattered into pieces. Sauron stood there and just brushed himself off. Clown was in disbelief. "What the hell? How did he do that? Is he a Hell Spawn From this era?"

"_Far from it._" A voice in Clown head says.

"Malebolgia?"

"_This foe, he is not a Hell Spawn. He is far above it._"

"A Demon Lord?"

"_Far greater. I feel that he might be a Dark Lord. He might be a race of Demi Gods called a Maia._"

"Maia? Since when did they exist in our history?"

"_Never! This one is from a realm parallel from our own._"

"You think Spawn can handle him?"

"_I don't know, but you better make sure he survives at all cost._"

Spawn regained himself for round two. He held out his hand and his cape began to move wildly and formed an axe in his hand. "Now I shall cut you to pieces." Spawn bellowed and charged his nemesis. Their weapons clashed and an intense dual of weapons broke out, but out of anger, Spawn was expelling energy at a rapid rate. Sauron sensed this and moved to attack. He was able to grab hold of Spawns head, spin him around, and then slam his skull into the ground. He followed it up with him bringing his head to his other fist and sends him flying back and hitting the ground hard. Spawn lay their for a moment, but then started to move and recover. "Damn you…to…Hell!" He said as he got up.

"Hmm, your skull should have been smashed in." Sauron said baffled by the fact Spawn survived. "I shall make sure this time you will stay down." Sauron started another charge, but Spawn reach into his cape and pulled out two hand held double barrel machine guns. "What?" Sauron stopped for he had never seen weapons like these."

"DIE!" Spawn said as he unleashed a barrage of bullets onto Sauron. Sauron stumbled back surprised for he had never felt an attack like this. Though the bullets didn't completely penetrate his armor, they still packed a very powerful punch and forced Sauron to shield his face. The gun fire suddenly stops. Sauron looked up to see his opponent's next move, but something caught his eye in the air. It looked like 5 pinecone like balls were thrown at him. As four hit the ground and one hit him in the face, they exploded engulfing the area in flame. Clown saw the destruction and started to dance around with joy.

"Ha ha ha! That's it baby!" Clown praised Spawn. "Nobody is strong enough to take you down."

Spawn didn't hear clown for he was too focused on making sure his nemesis was dead. At first, all he saw was flames burning, and then his face turned to complete shock as he saw a figure rise to its feet in the fire. "WHAT! IMPOSSIBLE!"

Clown turned to see for himself. "What the F? How could anyone survive that? Is he really a Demi God?"

Sauron got to his feet and made eye contact with Spawn. He then let out a fierce roar and blew all the flames away. Spawn tried to dodge the flames, but one caught him and lit his cape on fire. Spawn let out a cry of horror and franticly tried to smother the flame. Sauron saw his fear of fire. Spawn finally got the flame out, but he knew he gave away his weakness. He turned to see Sauron already charging him. He tries to stop him with the machine guns, but this time, they had absolutely no effect on him. Sauron quickly seized Spawn by the neck.

"You, who fear the flame, be consumed by it." Spawn felt his mind being tapped. The image of an eye writhed in flame filled his mind. He struggled to break free from the illusions, but to no avail. Spawn then found himself being held by Sauron in the Crack of Doom. His feet dangled over the lava river below. He looked down at the river of fire, and then looked at Sauron. As soon as they made eye contact, Sauron let go of Spawn leaving him to fall helplessly into the lava. The pain as too real for Spawn as the heat was like the day he died. He sank slowly into the hot lava while he was being watch by the fiery eye of Sauron. His scream of terror and pain seemed to have no end.

When all was done, Spawn was left lying on the ground in the fetal position trembling in shock, and Sauron collected all of his shards. He was about to move on, but he heard something charge him from behind him. It was clown who has taken his true form to stop him. Sauron parried all of his claw and spike attacks. He then recalled Morning Star and began to strike down Clown. After a few blows, Clown was knocked out.

With the shards collected, there was nothing more in this area for Sauron. He focused his senses to find more shards, but his meditation was interrupted by the sound of bells in the distance. He looked in the direction of the source and in the distance; he saw what looked to be a clock tower. Sauron paused for a moment, and began walking to the tower as if the bells were calling for him.

Thor's notes: Only four more chapters till Sauron and Sephiroth meet and fight. Patience please, it'll be worth it.


	10. The Undead Pirate

Thor's Notes: Some of you might hate me after this chapter. Don't read if you worship Talim.

The Undead Pirate.

(Sephiroth vs. Raphael-Cervantes.)

Raphael took his stance ready to face Sephiroth. Sephiroth studied his opponent and noticed he was very confident despite the overwhelming advantage Sephiroth had range wise. "Come, let get this fight over with." Raphael said and begun to spin his rapier in front of him and advanced on Sephiroth. Raphael closed in into Sephiroth's striking range and Sephiroth made an indirect strike to study his movements. Raphael parried the strike and Sephiroth followed his blade tip, but while looking at Raphael's weapon, he lost sight of Raphael himself. When Sephiroth regained focus on Raphael, he felt a cut in his chest. "Ah, appears you can't keep up with my movements. Allow me to take the offensive this time." Raphael charged him spinning his rapier out in front of him. Sephiroth tried watching his foot work, but failed to follow both his feet and his blade and a cut was landed on the face. "Well, have you figured now that you can't match my skills?"

"….Yes."

"Good! Now then, how about the underdog bows to his superior now."

"………Be my guest and start bowing."

"Excuse me?"

"When I said I was no match for you, I meant that even at my weakened state, my power would never get as low as yours. I admit, your sword skills are exceptional, but…" Life Stream flowed around his body healing all cuts. "If that's all you got, then you stand no chance against me."

"What…what are you?"

"……A monster."

"Humph, monster or not, you don't deserve to get Soul Edge before I do!" He charged again with his rapier, but Sephiroth didn't bother putting up his guard. He simple shot a dirty look and Raphael flinched.

"You hesitated." Sephiroth said before throwing a slash and knocked back Raphael a few feet.

"Grr, what a joke!" He tried to get into his fighting stance, but Sephiroth stomped the ground and sent a shockwave that made Raphael lose contact with the ground. Sephiroth made two slashed in that instant. One knocked away Raphael, the other severed his pouch of Shards from his sash. "Why you…!" Before he could finished, Sephiroth sent Masamune through Raphael's collar bone and pinned him to the floor. "Damn…you!"

"I don't have time for your little game. Time for you to die." Sephiroth dug Masamune out of Raphael and moved to finish him off. However, before his sword fell, he as tackled in the head by Amy, who came to save Raphael. The surprise attack knocked Sephiroth to a knee. He was about to get up, but Amy drove her rapier into Sephiroth's leg, pinning him to the ground. She and the remaining assassins helped the injured Raphael to a life boat. Sephiroth and Raphael made eye contact with each other, and then Sephiroth looked at the sash of Soul Edge Shards Raphael left on the deck. Sephiroth let out a grin of satisfaction as Raphael grinded his teeth as he realized what he lost. There was nothing Raphael can do as he escaped the ship by life boat. Sephiroth calmly dug the rapier out of his leg and went and picked up his prize. His collection was getting bigger he thought. He took a moment to look around and he noticed that after all that has happened he was the only one left aboard. He let out a heavy breath and made his way to the captain quarters.

Several days passed since Sephiroth defeated Raphael. The ship just sailed on its own course. For the whole trip, Sephitoth just laid on the captain's rack. He wasn't asleep nor fully awake, but in a trance. He drifted in and out of thought. He would think about the past, when he terrorized the world he once lived in. He was undisturbed, but there was a violent tremor from the ship. He calmly sat up. "Hmm, something is a miss." He rose to his feet, grabbed Masamune and walked to the door. When he opened it, he was greeted by a hurricane that came out of nowhere. Despite the winds, the rain and the heavy rocking of the boat, Sephiroth moved as if he was just walking on solid land. He walked across the deck till he made the halfway point of the deck and then looked to his feet. "Oh! Half of the ship is gone." He calmly said as he saw his ship was torn in half. He scanned the surf for the bow of the ship. He spotted it bobbing up and down in the surf he raised his hand to try to move it with his powers, but then he saw another wrecked ship in the surf smashing against the rocks. Then he noticed another and two more. He looked into the water and saw hundreds of corpses belonging to sailors, pirates, and civilians alike. "A graveyard of men and ships? Why does it seem all of these…" He pauses for he felt as if an evil presence was watching him. He slowly walked away from the ledge trying to pinpoint the source of the power. Then he got a chill in his spine and quickly looked over his shoulder. He barely got a chance to look before evading two swords that flew straight down at him. On looked liked an ordinary long dagger, while the other was a medium sized sword. A sword made entirely from Soul Edge shards. He then looked up and saw on the upper deck was the Undead Spaniard Pirate, Cervantes and in his arms was the young Talim attached to a ball and chain.

"Ha ha ha! Yet another victim of my storm, and he even got Soul Edge Shards with him. Good, I shall claim both a soul and shards today." He drops Talim and her ball and chain. She tries to struggle free, but her small stature didn't phase the weight one bit. Cervantes came to the edge of the deck. "Now," He jumps down and grabs his weapons. "Give me your soul." Without hesitation, Cervantes charged at Sephiroth. Sephiroth, for the first time coming to this realm, he was surprised by the power that some one cam possess. Cervantes didn't let up for a second as he kept Sephiroth on the defensive that was having a tough time keeping track of both Nirvana and Soul Edge. Then Sephiroth saw a possible opening and slash his sword at Cervantes. The strike was on target, but before a cut was made, Cervantes just vanished into thin air. Sephiroth was then looked up at the last second to see Cervantes appear above him. He came down hard, but Sephiroth managed to jump out of the way at the last second. With some distance between himself and the Pirate, Sephiroth attempted to do a thunder spell, but mid way through conjuring; Cervantes came at him with a spiral attack and caused him to defend himself instead. With no other option, Sephiroth was forced in a defensive stance with Masamune pointed directly at Cervantes.

"Ha, what's wrong? Can't keep up with me?" Sephiroth remained silent while trying to think of a way to beat him. "Don't feel bad, none can keep up with me. So you're not the only one. Now how bout you give me the shards of Soul Edge and I'll let you keep your soul." Sephiroth just pondered what he could do to stop his undead foe. He then looked down and dropped his stance.

"…..you win. I'll give you the shards quietly."

"Exellent!" Sephiroth tossed Cervanted all the shards he had. "Good." The shards fused with his share of Soul Edge, increasing it in size and power. "Ha! The power of Soul Edge flows through my veins." He then moves to Talim who was still unable to get free of the ball and chain and lifts her up. "Now be gone you…..." Before he could finish, Sephiroth charged at him with Masamune. Cervanted saw it coming with no surprise. He calmly dropped Nirvana and readied a stance. Though Sephiroth was fast, Cervantes still followed him carefully. Sephiroth then began to spin his sword and became a bit unpredictable to both Talim and Cervantes. Then the gap was closed, Soul Edge was knocked out of Cervantes' hand and the sound of a blade piercing flesh and two painful grunts. Cervantes looked down to see Masamune going into Talim's chest all the way out his back. Talim face began to go pale from the blood loss as Cervantes was shocked that his opponent would pull off such a cruel maneuver. "What! You monster!" Sephiroth grabbed Soul Edge and held it at Cervantes' throat, while Talim's head dropped. The two men stared into each other's eyes, but then Cervantes eyes narrowed as he slashed at Sephiroth. To avoid the attack, he slid Masamune out from Cervantes and Talim to get distance. In response, Cervantes pushed Talim's lifeless body at Sephiroth causing him to catch her in his arm. Before he could retaliate, the sound of a gunshot was heard and Sephiroth's body jerked back. He looked up to see that it came from a pistol mounted on Cervantes' Nirvana. He fell overboard with Talim in his arms as blood trickled from the wound in his neck. The splash was heard and Cervantes dropped Nirvana and held his chest wound as he stood alone on the ships deck, lucky to be alive, but without Soul Edge. Cervantes and his ship drift out of sight in the storm, but Sephiroth, with Talim in his arms, was submerged beneath the surf for a few minutes. They appeared both lifeless, but then Sephiroth's body began to glow green with the energy of the Lifestream in his body. The green light consumed them both and there was a bright flash, but then silence as the water went black.

Morning came and the storm died. The sun shone on a beach not to far from the sight of the battle. On the beach laid Sephiroth with Masamune in one hand, and the fragment of Soul Edge in the other. Not to far from him was the body of Talim. Sephiroth's hand began to grasp Masamune tightly as he began to wake. He struggled to his feet and looked around. He noticed Soul Edge was actually changing shape in his hand. It started to form the shape of Masamune, but without it complete, it didn't come close to the actual length of Masamune. With that, he walked off out of sight, and the body of Talim was left behind.

Thors notes: ………OK OK! Talim will be back later! I didn't wana spoil, but I don't wanna scare anyone away. Tee minus 3 chapters till they meet.


End file.
